SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
You are invited to submit a proposal for a project by the Chiefs of Ontario to engage First Nation leadership in Ontario by conducting four (4) Housing Workshops and one Housing Summit that will inform and receive feedback from participants on a number of priority issues related to housing and infrastructure.

REQUEST FOR FACILITATOR PROPOSALS
Submission Deadline: March 10, 2021, AT 12:00PM Eastern Standard Time (EST)

Send Proposal to:
Policy and Communications Department, Attn: Barret Dokis, Policy and
Communications Director
Chiefs of Ontario
468 Queen St. E – Suite 400
Toronto, ON M5A 1T7
Email: barret.dokis@coo.org

A proposal must be submitted as a PDF file to Chiefs of Ontario with two (2) hard copies
of the proposals to be shipped to the Chiefs of Ontario. The proposal must be received
by Chiefs of Ontario no later than the deadline date. A proposal submitted in any other
manner or late may be disqualified.

The proposal shall be irrevocably open for acceptance and binding on the Facilitator for fourteen (14) days after the Submission Deadline date.

The interested candidate’s proposal must include the following:

  • A demonstration of their expertise in addressing issues related to First Nations housing and infrastructure, including on-reserve housing regulations/policies, federal housing programs, and financing options.
  • A work plan in alignment with the project deliverables within the provided timeframe (March 2021 – June 2021).
  • A proposed budget for the completion of the work with a budget schedule in alignment with the completion of each project deliverable for a max amount of $35,000.

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
The on-reserve housing crisis in Ontario has intensified since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitating immediate funding to address critical First Nation housing priorities. In addition to funding, policy and structural changes are required to ensure First Nations are able to meet their housing needs. This includes ensuring First Nations treaty and inherent rights are respected as well as addressing dated government policies.

Despite these challenges, expanding housing stock on-reserve presents significant opportunities for First Nations in terms of economic development, including in construction, manufacturing, and service delivery. Further, if coupled with training and employment programs, ongoing investment in housing can be an important driver for expanding First Nations human capital and developing a highly skilled workforce.

The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is mandated through resolutions to engage with the Federal Government and First Nation regions across Canada on housing and infrastructure. Following AFN Resolution 27/2017, Development of a First Nations National Housing and Infrastructure Strategy, a joint working group was established with representatives from the AFN, Chiefs Committee on Housing and Infrastructure (CCOHI), Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).

To support future phases of the National Housing Strategy (NHS), the Chiefs of Ontario has been directed by Chiefs in Assembly via resolution 20/10 to conduct engagement related to Ontario’s implementation of the NHS. The Chiefs of Ontario has received resources from Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) to conduct regional engagement to identify a path forward for Ontario within AFN’s NHS. A major component of engagement process will be to determine how Ontario First Nations wish to proceed with the transfer of care and control of housing and what kind of resources, policies, and institutional frameworks will be necessary to do so.

PROCESS
Four (4) Housing Workshops and one (1) Housing Summit will be held to provide a venue for meaningful dialogue on priority issues identified by the CCOHI. The four (4) Housing Workshops, to be held throughout Spring 2021, will cover the following:

  1. Introduction to the National Housing Strategy: Provide introductory information on the National Housing Strategy and present Ontario-specific housing data report developed by the First Nations Information Governance Institute. This will be a two-day meeting and will include breakout sessions on day two. Breakout sessions will include speakers, information, and discussion tailored to the housing and infrastructure priorities of remote, large, and urban First Nations.
  2. Financing and Economic Development: Provide information and create space for discussion related to financing housing on-reserve, including such topics as loan guarantees, grants, debt, lending mechanisms, affordability, and regional institutional support. This session will provide an opportunity to discuss some of the challenges faced by First Nations when working with financial institutions and government agencies, such as CMHC, FNMBH, banks, and others. This session will also consider the economic development opportunities when expanding housing stock on-reserve, including in construction, manufacturing, and employment programs.
  3. Data and Governance: Provide information and create space for discussion related to collecting and storing housing and infrastructure data as well as broader issues related to First Nations control over housing and infrastructure in Ontario. The discussion and analysis would also cover the legacy issues and lessons learned from previous program and service delivery models. Space will also be given to regional organizations and independent First Nations to provide updates on their individual housing strategies and discuss the potential for inter-regional collaboration in data storage and governance.
  4. Immediate Needs: Provide space for discussion on the immediate needs of First Nations in Ontario related to housing and infrastructure. It is clear from initial data from the national housing survey that a significant increase in investment for housing and infrastructure is required in Ontario, to the tune of billions of dollars. This session will provide space to discuss how political advocacy may be used to secure ongoing needs-based funding for on-reserve housing.

The Housing Summit, to be hosted in May 2021, will provide information on work to date at the national level, provide an overview of discussion and recommendations from the preceding workshops, and discuss and refine the options/concepts of how transfer of care and control of housing may look like in Ontario.

OBJECTIVES AND KEY DELIVERABLES:

  1. Facilitation of four (4) Housing Workshops and one (1) Housing Summit: The Facilitator will be responsible for generating discussion at each of the Housing Workshops and Housing Summit, as well as curating the agenda, inviting speakers, and addressing concerns from First Nation leadership.
  2. Reporting progress: The Facilitator will be responsible for reporting progress to First Nations leadership and CCOHI by attending committee meetings as requested and providing a preliminary Progress Report by April 1, 2021. The Progress Report will outline potential obstacles and solutions to successfully completing the engagement as well as preliminary analysis of the transfer of care and control of housing in Ontario.
  3. Development of a Final Report: The Facilitator, along with the Report Writer, will be responsible for the completion of a Final Report, to be presented as follows:
    • Hard copy and virtual presentation to the Chiefs Committee on Housing and Infrastructure for any final feedback and potential revision
    • Final submission to the Chiefs of Ontario, along with a final presentation to the Chiefs in Assembly at the June 2021 All Ontario Chiefs Conference

METHODOLOGY
In their proposal, the Facilitator will provide a detailed work plan that accounts for the objectives and deliverables identified above. Upon being successfully awarded the contract, the Facilitator will work with Chiefs of Ontario policy analysts and the CCOHI to finalize the work plan. The Facilitator will attend all four (4) Housing Workshops, the Housing Summit, and CCOHI meetings as requested. With support from a report writer, the Facilitator will record feedback and recommendations on the AFN’s National Housing Strategy and the transfer of care and control of housing. Feedback and recommendations will be used to develop a Final Report, to be presented to the Chiefs in Assembly at the All Ontario Chiefs Conference in June 2021. The Facilitator will provide the drafts of the report to COO policy analysts and the Director of Policy and Communications for feedback via teleconference on an ongoing basis and prior to the final report.

WORKING RELATIONSHIP

  • This contract will be supervised by the Chiefs of Ontario Director of Policy and Communications.
  • The Facilitator will work alongside the Report Writer and will meet regularly with policy analysts, the Director of Policy and Communications, and the CCOHI.

For more information, including the required schedule with milestones and proposal requirements, please see full PDF here: RFP Housing and Infrastructure – Report Writer (2.19.21) RFP Housing and Infrastructure – Facilitator